What Are Water Towers For?
Water towers are nothing more than simple elevated tanks of water. Water towers provide storage and help keep a town’s water pressure high at all times. Generally, the pumping station sends water through the pipes that run beneath the streets at sufficient pressure to carry it to every faucet.
But sometimes the demand for water may be too great for the pressure a pumping station can supply. Then, water may only trickle from faucets. When the water pressure falls, water is released from the tall water tower. The water flows downward by gravity and provides the extra force needed to push the water through the piping system.
They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. However, they all work the same way. Water towers are tall and are often placed on high ground, so that they can provide sufficient pressure to deliver water to homes in case of an emergency. Scientists estimate that each foot of a water tower’s height provides a little less than half a pound per square inch of pressure.
As for the smaller water towers you see on the roofs of buildings in large cities, those are often required by local laws, so that buildings above a certain height will have their own sources of water in an emergency. If you ever visit New York City, you can see hundreds of buildings with their own water towers.